5) Heurelho Gomes v Fulham, 2008
The Brazilian so often resided at the extremes, either producing a masterclass of goalmouth acrobatics, or responsible for gaffes that were downright funny to all but the White Hart Lane faithful.
In November 2008, away at Craven Cottage, Tottenham’s shot-stopper prat-fell head-first into the latter camp when Simon Davies’ harmless angled cross eluded oncoming strikers and bounced up invitingly into his midriff.
Collecting the ball there, at modicum speed, is a goalkeeping six-inch putt. A straight red. A smash into an empty half-court.
Gomes though forgot the fundamentals and bizarrely chested the ball into his own net.
4) Jordan Pickford v Liverpool, 2018
Everton’s Anfield curse felt more real and cruel than ever before in December 2018 when a defiant Toffees frustrated their title-chasing neighbours for 96 minutes.
Pickford played his part, making a number of smart saves. So too did the crossbar, keeping out a late effort from Divock Origi.
Only then, with literally seconds on the clock, both conspired to conjure up a last-gasp tap-in for the Belgian, who was making his first appearance for the Reds for eons.
A speculative punt into the box was headed clear onto the boot of Virgil Van Dijk who hopelessly spooned an attempted volley, the ball spiralling high into the air.
Had Pickford judged the flight correctly it would have landed on top of the bar and gone out for a goal-kick but instead he flapped at it.
Not only did this keep the ball in play, it left Pickford out of commission.
There have been worst clangers than this but factoring in the opposition, the timing, the significance, and the extension of a curse, this was a perfect maelstrom of calamity.
3) Ian Walker v Bolton, 2004
Leicester City’s Premier League relegation odds were shortening on a weekly basis by the time they hosted the Trotters in February of 2004. They went into the game winless in ten having conceded 15 times in their last four outings.
Here though, a rare victory beckoned, the Foxes protecting a first-half lead well, even if some luck was being rode.
That was until Kevin Davies’ close-range prod was safely smothered by Ian Walker, a passage of play that saw the striker turn and head back towards the centre-circle. It was a chance missed.
The England international in nets however then proceeded to have the kind of meltdown keepers have nightmares about.
He lost possession of the ball while on the ground, it squirming under his body, and when attempting to contort his body so as to reclaim it somehow managed to backheel it goal-bound.
2) Massimo Taibi v Southampton, 1999
Just four months earlier, Manchester United had pulled off a famous treble, with Peter Schmeichel a pivotal presence as they came back in dramatic fashion to beat Bayern Munich.
With the Great Dane having left in the summer though, this was an after-the-Lord-Mayor’s-show of a season as they struggled to find a successor.
Granted, the Reds’ Premier League odds always had them as favourites and they duly retained their title, but one by one a plethora of pretenders tried on the big man’s gloves only to fall short.
This cost United in the cups for sure.
There was Mark Bosnich and World Cup-winning Fabien Barthez. Tim Howard and Roy Carroll. Only when Edwin Van Der Sar arrived several years later was the situation properly resolved.
The autumn of ’99 was Taibi’s audition and boy did he fluff his lines. In a 3-3 draw at home to Southampton the former Venezia keeper allowed a tepid 20-yard effort by Matt Le Tissier to somehow transfuse his entire body to the utter bewilderment of everyone at Old Trafford.
The ‘Blind Venetian’ only played one more game, away at Chelsea. United lost 5-0.
1) Peter Enckelman v Birmingham City, 2002
The Finn wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole in September 2002 when he committed the biggest faux-pas of his career, in the worst possible setting, against the worst possible opponent.
Birmingham were already two-up in this ferocious all-Midlands dust-up at St Andrews when Aston Villa defender Olof Mellberg took a throw-up, directing it towards his keeper to start an attack.
In two minds about where to hoof it, Enckelman clearly takes for granted the requirement to control it first, the ball skimming off his studs and rolling comically into the goal.
What happened next was appalling, as a Birmingham fan raced onto the pitch and taunted the keeper with an obscene hand gesture. It eventually led to the supporter being jailed.
That the 25-year-old kept his composure and didn’t react in the midst of a professional nadir is to his enormous credit.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
